Long live Steve Jobs, successor to Edison and Disney

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Edison, Disney, Jobs. If the history of American innovation were written today these three pioneers would be featured on the cover. Combining vision and an understanding of what people want — or didn’t even know they wanted yet — with a relentless drive to make it happen all of them helped shape our society. None more than Steve Jobs. While even successful entrepreneurs struggle to have a “second act” Steve Jobs had three, four, five, and then some.

Founding Apple Computer with Steve Wozniak in 1976 took courage but Steve’s realization that the world needed something much more than a keyboard rocked computing for an entire decade — living up to the hype of his famous 1984 Superbowl ad which showed the Mac breaking all existing computing paradigms. Like many founders he was forced out of his own company by “wiser-heads” who wanted someone with more experience to run it. Instead of fading away — which would have been easy to do with the fortune he had made on his Apple stock — Jobs went on to an almost unimaginable success in a very different field.

Never afraid to bet big Steve put some of the money he had made on Apple into Pixar, a tiny animation company started by George Lucas. From a foundering beginning in high-end imaging hardware Steve persisted and over time turned its software arm into the world’s greatest computer graphics powerhouse.

Then there was NeXT, the sleek black box of a workstation that put everything that had been done before on the desktop to shame. Its introduction caused panic throughout traditional computing circles and permanently raised the bar in ease of use and industrial design for all of us working in the technical computing industry. From NeXT Steve got the experience and the technology to overhaul the Mac’s operating system in a way that would put it years ahead of Windows.

It is the world-changing series of products that he delivered after his triumphant return to Apple as CEO that everyone will remember Steve Jobs for. His baby, the Macintosh, had already been transformed into a much more powerful computer by then but Steve’s vision included much more than that. The iMac, an integrated computer built into a monitor was one of the first signs that he wanted to move beyond the traditional desktop computer paradigm.

Steve’s vision of computing knew no bounds. He imagined the products he wished to have and then had the force of will to create them. That is no small thing. Creating an idea in a garage with some friends or even in a start-up is one thing. Having the focus, drive and management skills to guide the large corporation that Apple had become to deliver them is entirely different. Steve had just that.

The iPod, iPhone, and most recently the iPad all flowed from his own desire to have the ultimate device at hand and to make it available to other. Taking the Silicon Valley philosophy of “next bench” design pioneered by Hewlett-Packard to an extreme never seen before Steve made real his own vision for the inter-connected world.

Living in Silicon Valley, many of my friends have worked at Apple over the years. By all accounts, Jobs was not an easy person to work for. He was opinionated and driven. But for those who stuck it out the results were amazing. They could truly be part of changing the world. The number of people now using Apple devices is almost beyond counting. And almost everyone one of them would chime in that their day to day lives have been affected by what they hold in their hands.

In what is a fitting, if fleeting, tribute to his importance, the airwaves and the Internet have all come together to mourn Steve’s passing. Few events touch so many people. A friend of mine who worked for Jobs for many years put it best: “Thank you Steve for your compelling vision and drive to delight the world with amazing products. You changed our lives for the better and your impact will live on. It was a honor to be part of your team for so many years.” Even President Obama has been quick to relate the importance of Steve Jobs to America and to him.

One of Steve’s most amazing and touching moments was at the Stanford University graduation in 2005 when he gave the credo that helped shape his life and many others, “If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?” Many of us have thought something similar, but Steve had the courage, willpower, and talent to live by it and make a difference. Let us hope we can all do the same.

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